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The Easiest Guide to Writing SMART Goals

HEADLINE

The Easiest Guide to Writing SMART Goals

INTRODUCTION

Without setting goals or objectives, work becomes a chain of chaos that is uncontrollable, and your job becomes a game of chances. When people in a workplace are oriented toward an important goal, they both think and behave differently. However, simply having goals is not enough. The goal-setting process must be strategic and well planned. Hence, you need to develop SMART goals for your business.

LEAD-IN

SMART goals are designed to provide the structure and direction of a company, and better determine what must be achieved over a period of time.

In business, SMART goals communicate end purpose. This ultimately inspires initiative, loyalty, productivity and high levels of performance for both the company and its employees. With SMART goal-setting, everyone knows exactly what the work priorities are and what is expected of them.

MAIN HEADER & POINT

What are SMART goals?

You probably have heard of the term “SMART goals” before. They are defined as goals with specific criteria. These criteria are easily remembered by using the acronym SMART, which stands for “Specific”, “Measurable”, “Achievable”, “Relevant”, and “Time-Bound”.

This acronym was first introduced in November 1981 when George T. Doran, a corporate planning consultant, published his research entitled “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives”. In his paper, Doran introduced SMART goals as a tool to create specific criteria to help improve the chances of succeeding in achieving a goal.

SUB HEADERS

What is the SMART framework?

S – Specific

Goals that are too broad and vague aren’t attainable. Being specific limits the boundaries of your goal, resulting in a better understanding and efficiency.

Broad goal: Grow my business

Specific goal: Acquire new clients at my (X) business.

M – Measurable

Goals must be quantifiable. Those containing numbers are the best. Always consider incorporating a higher limit to reach or exceed, or a growth percentage relative to the previous year. This makes a goal more tangible because it provides a way to measure progress.

Measurable goal: Acquire 15 new clients at my (X) business.

A – Achievable

Goals should be challenging but achievable. They should neither be too easy nor impossible.

An achievable goal is one that can break down into a tactical plan with tasks you or your team can perform. You should have the necessary knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources to accomplish this goal.

Achievable goal: Acquire 15 new clients at my (X) business by:

Increasing brand awareness through attending events.

Launching a social media (Facebook) marketing campaign.

R – Relevant

Relevance refers to focusing on something that is logical in regard with the broader business goals. It is often tempting to set a goal because it is either easy or sounds great, only to find out later that it does not havea long-term significance to what you want to achieve as an organization. When setting a goal, always specify the reason, purpose, or benefit of accomplishing the goal.

Relevant goal: Acquire 15 new clients at my (X) business by:

Increasing brand awareness through attending events.

launching a social media (Facebook) marketing campaign.

This allows to expand the business and increase revenue.

T – Time-Bound

Providing a realistic time/deadline constraint creates a sense of urgency. It is no secret that installing deadlines for you and your team helps you switch to action.

If it is a major annual goal, divide that number over a 12-month period and create monthly mini-goals to reachthe ultimate goal.

Timed goal: Acquire 15 new clients at my (X) business by:

Increasing brand awareness through attending events.

launching a social media (Facebook) marketing campaign.

This allows to expand the business and increase revenue.

I will achieve this goal within three months starting from 1st of January.

CONCLUSION

Once you finish writing your goals according to each SMART feature, you can then merge all the work you’ve done into one SMART goal.

“Acquire 15 new clients (measurable) for my (X) business (specific) within three months starting January 1st (time-bound) by Increasing brand awareness through attending events and launching a Facebook marketing campaign (achievable). This allows to expand the business and increase revenue (relevant).”

SUMMARY

When writing your SMART goals, you’ll find that having some clarity about what you want to achieve can make all the difference between success and failure.

SMART goal setting brings structure and trackability into your goals and objectives and it also helps growing strategically while developing an engaging company culture.